April 7, 2021, Biloxi, Mississippi:
By Capt. Dave Lear
To celebrate its silver 25th anniversary, the Classic is bringing back a popular change to the game fish division. Swordfish will be an eligible species, along with tuna, wahoo and dolphin. As an added bonus, the Classic will pay $250,000 to the last team to break the existing Mississippi swordfish record of 242 pounds. The first-place tournament award will add another $20,000 to the purse and if the team is also a Hilton’s Realtime Navigator subscriber, the record sword will earn another $25,000. More sponsors are expected to come on board for an overall payout of more than $300,000. In the other game fish categories, first through third places in optionals, plus tournament awards, will be paid out to the top weights.
Blue marlin, the ultimate prize, will pay the three heaviest fish in the optional weight divisions, along with tournament awards. If a team breaks the Mississippi blue marlin record of 1,054.6 pounds, they will win a 2021 Nissan Titan Platinum 4X4 pickup, presented by Petro Nissan of Hattiesburg, MS (petronissan.com). The truck has an MSRP of $68,000.
The highly competitive release division will also pay the top three teams based on the number of verified billfish successfully released. White marlin, spearfish and sailfish are eligible catches in this division.
“We’re proud to celebrate 25 years of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic,” says Tournament Director Bobby Carter. “It’s a credit to the incredible fishery the Gulf Coast has to offer and a tribute to our 25th anniversary to have the loyal support of all our great teams. Registration is brisk and the phone is ringing off the hook. More than 100 boats are already pre-registered and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to Biloxi on June 7 for another exciting week of big-game action.”
The Classic has paid out millions in prize money over the course of its memorable history. The tournament holds the distinction of weighing the largest blue marlin ever in the Gulf, a 1,054.6-pound behemoth. During last year’s contest an incredible 101 billfish were released, with Born2Run earning the top score with 10 blue marlin on its ledger. It Just Takes Time weighed the winning blue marlin, a 570.2-pounder, to take home $213,600 in winnings.
Teams needing accommodations should contact the host Golden Nugget Biloxi Hotel & Casino by telephone at 800-777-7568 or email at [email protected]. Use the code S210357 to receive the Billfish Block special rate.
